The Dandy Candy Lady

Our Towns

Greater Hartford

No matter what their personal favorites, Connecticut residents have long held an especially sweet place in their hearts and palates for Munson's Chocolates. For those heavenly delights, connoisseurs of fine chocolate have Josephine ``Jo'' Munson to thank. She and her husband, Benjamin, founded the company that bears their name in 1946.

Although it has never been proved that eating a chocolate a day can lead to a long and hearty life, Mrs. Munson was a testament to the fact that sweets -- including her renowned chocolate creme and pineapple pies -- could be life-enhancing.

Jo Munson died last week in Florida at the age of 96.

Today, Munson's Chocolates, run by third-generation family members, is Connecticut's largest retail chocolate manufacturer.

It wasn't always so. The Munsons' first attempt at opening a candy store ended in failure. Undeterred, they started The Dandy Candy Co. in a small store behind a tailor's shop in Manchester. There, and later in a converted horse barn, the Munsons made sugar wafers, ribbon candy and candy canes from sugar rations they received after World War II.

They were a team, with Mr. Munson mixing up batches of creams and caramels and hand dipping them in chocolate, and Mrs. Munson packaging and preparing them for sale. When the business outgrew the barn, production of the confections was moved to a factory in Bolton.

Mrs. Munson was not just about candy. She was an accomplished ballroom dancer, an award-winning painter and an avid Scrabble player.

But she will be remembered first and foremost for her chocolate. How sweet was her life.